Monterey >> The Monterey Bay Aquarium has submitted a use permit for the $30 million building project at 625 Cannery Row that aims to expand its educational program offerings.

The Center for Ocean Education & Leadership is designed to house the aquarium’s existing educational department. The proposed K-12 ocean education and leadership center will include five learning spaces/labs, a multipurpose room, office space for 35 staff members and a video lab. The target for opening is 2018.

“Right now, we have a robust educational interaction with schoolchildren where trips are scheduled,” said Steve Lyon, the aquarium’s special projects manager. “We have two relatively small discovery labs where children can get some hands-on interactive sessions to put what they’re learning as they walk around the aquarium in perspective. But we’re out of space. So developing this building expands our ability to create a better education experience for kids as opposed to just have them walk around and look.”

“With larger facilities in the new center, nearly every visiting student will be able to take part in one of the many programs we’ve created to help school districts and home school families better meet California’s Next Generation of Science Standards,” said Rita Bell, the aquarium’s director of education. “There’s a serious need in California to bolster science and environmental education in our schools and we’re responding to that need.”

The 26,000-square-foot facility, designed by the San Francisco-based architectural firm Mark Cavagnero Associates, will be four stories high with an event center located on the fourth floor. It will incorporate technological features for learning and teaching, including wet labs with marine life, a sea life support system and running sea water. It will also include solar panels, water conservation features and be constructed to U.S. Green Building Council LEED Gold standards.

“It’s expected to have a passive teaching component, designed to utilize best practices for sustainability design and construction, which include efficient use of natural light and ventilation, a green roof component and the introduction of solar panels,” said Lyon.

Lyon also said its design is aimed to be respectful of the Cannery Row fishing heritage in regards to its outward appearance.

“We want to maintain a sense of connection with a treasured past and include a forward-looking modern twist,” said Lyon. There will also be a first floor public exhibit space because the building is next to the rec trail.

The next step for the fledgling project is an architectural review of the project, followed by application for a coastal development permit through the California Coastal Commission, and then a building permit.

“The city has 30 days to review the plan,” said Monterey’s Senior Planner Christy Hopper. “We’re doing a use permit review first, and if it all gets approved, then it’ll go forward for an architectural review.”

The aquarium purchased the buildings at 585 and 625 Cannery Row from the Shake family in 2014. It has raised $28 million toward the $65 million needed to fund the purchase of the property, construction of the center, and to support expansion of programs for visiting school groups, teachers and youth. Construction of the center itself will cost $30 million. The aquarium hopes to break ground on the state-of-the-art facility this fall.

“We’re thrilled to be moving forward with a project that will have such a significant long-term impact on science education in California,”said aquarium Executive Director Julie Packard.

Since its opening in 1984, the aquarium has hosted more than two million schoolchildren through its free educational programs.

“The programs preparing kids for this aren’t just a one-off,” said Lyon. “If we do it right, kids will come back again and again. As they get older, we can keep them engaged with ocean studies where they become more informed, invigorated and inspired.”